Motorola Solutions Inc., which is based in Schaumburg, Ill., about 20 miles away from Zebra in Lincolnshire, will continue to make voice and data communication products for government and public safety customers.

Zebra will fund the acquisition with about $200 million in available cash and $3.25 billion in debt. The companies expect to close the deal by the end of the year.

Motorola also released preliminary first-quarter earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street expectations. The company said Tuesday it expects revenue to fall about 9 per cent to around $1.8 billion, due in part to lower-than-expected North American government business. It expects adjusted earnings of 50 cents per share.

Analysts forecast, on average, earnings of 51 cents per share on $1.88 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

The sale announced Tuesday, however, overshadowed those headwinds and company shares rose more than 3 per cent, to $66.